Robot 6

Comics A.M. | San Diego Convention Center plan faces agency hurdle

Conventions | A even bigger obstacle than the San Diego Chargers to the proposed $520 million expansion of the San Diego Convention Center could be the California Coastal Commission, which must approve the project before it can proceed (the stage agency has regulatory oversight of land use and public access to the California coastal zone). The commission’s 11 members are meeting today through Friday in Mission Valley, where they’re expected to consider staff objections about reduced access to the bay; a bridge, estimated to cost about $42 million, from the foot of Fourth Avenue in the Gaslamp Quarter has been floated as a solution. A public hearing is being held Thursday. The expansion of the convention center is viewed as critical to keeping Comic-Con International in the city past 2015. [U-T San Diego]

New York Comic Con

Conventions | New York Comic Con, which opens Thursday at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan, is expected to draw about 120,000 attendees, up slightly from last year’s 116,000 — and a significant increase from 105,000 in 2011. The estimate for this year may be a little conservative, considering construction is complete on the Javits Center, adding another 90,000 square feet of exhibit space for the event. [The Wall Street Journal]

Creators | Brian Truitt talks with Robert Kirkman about the 10th anniversary of The Walking Dead, whose landmark 115th issue (out today) has reportedly sold 350,000 copies — making it the top-selling comic of the year in the direct market. “To an extent, it’s really not that important to me,” the writer says of that record. “Having the No. 1 book of the year gets you nothing — I don’t even get a bowl of Cheerios for that. […] It’s gratifying in that it means I beat every book released by Marvel and DC, and those are two titanic companies with the backing of Disney and Warner Bros. now. That part is pretty neat.” [USA Today]

Batgirl #24

Creators | Gail Simone’s Batgirl #24 hits the stands this week with part two of the “Batgirl: Wanted” story arc, and Dark Horse and Dynamite just announced Simone will be writing a Conan/Red Sonja crossover with Brian Wood. She stops long enough to talk to Blake Hennon about Barbara Gordon, female creators and characters, and her other comic, The Movement. [Hero Complex]